Gun firing solenoid



My"3,196 0 v c. H. BUECKER 2,935,001@ v GUN FIRING SOLENOID x Filed-.lime '7, 1955 2 Sheets-She 1 I May 3, 1960 c. H. BUECKER 2,935,001

GUN FIRING SOLENOID Filed June 7, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /0 d--3 P11-. L

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|v L f I United States Patent O GUN FIRING SOLENOID Carl Henry Buecker, Fort Wayne, Ind., assignor to. The Magnavox Company, Fort Wayne, Ind., a corporation Application June 7, 1955, Serial No. 513,736

Claims. (Cl. 89-135) This invention relates generally to -gun tiring mechanisms and more particularly to a gun tiring solenoid for actuating the trigger mechauism'of a machine gun.

Prior art electrical gun tiring mechanisms are relatively bulky as they require a complete magnetic circuit apart from the gun structure. Also, appreciable power is required to operate the trigger mechanism of a machine gun and, consequently, conventional mechanisms are subject to appreciable overheating which necessarily impairs the eiciency of the gun.

Accordingly, the principal object of this invention is to provide a gun tiring solenoid adapted to utilize a portion of the gun structure as its magnetic circuit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means of adjusting the core of the solenoid with respect to the trigger mechanism of the gun, whereby the trigger may .be operated at the proper position of the bolt, regardless of variation in dimensions of various gun parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide adjustment of the core in a gun tiring solenoid, whereby trigger bars may be interchanged.

Still Aanother object of this invention is to provide a gun tiring solenoid of such character that overheating is reduced to a minimum.

In accordance with this invention there is provided a gun tiring solenoid adapted to be mounted within the structure of a machine gun, thereby to utilize said structure as part of the magnetic circuit of the solenoid, said solenoid including a core and plunger which may be vadjusted with respect to the trigger bar of the machine gun.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following de- Y scription and claims:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross section of the gun tiring solenoid provided in accordance with this invention.-

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

The gun tiring solenoid of this invention is adapted to be mounted within the frame of a conventional machine gun. The solenoid is arranged to operate a trigger bar 11 pivotally mounted within the gun frame as at 12. A solenoid 14 may be mounted within a spool indicated generally at 15 and including a sleeve guide 16. The spool 15 may be mounted within a socket formed in an iron frame structure 17, whereby structure 17 becomes a part of the magnetic circuit of solenoid 14.

An adjustable core 18 may be threaded within the upper portion of sleeve 16, whereby it may be adjusted upwardly or downwardly with respect thereto and locked in position by means of a lock nut 19. A plunger 20 may be suspended from core 18 by means of a bolt 21 threaded to plunger 20 and slideably supported within core 18 from its head 22 nested within a tubular socket 23 slideably embedded, as shown, within core 18. The bolt 21 maybe screwed into or out of plunger 20, thereby to 2,935,001 Patented May 3,

core 18. The bolt 21 may be locked with respect to plunger 20 by means of a set screw 24. v

Plunger 20 may be pivotallyl connected to trigger barl 11 by means of a pivot pin 25 extending through plunger 20 into trigger bar 11, as shown in Fig. 3.

For manually operating the plunger 20 and therewith the trigger bar 11 to control firing of the gun, there is provided a lever 26 having a fork portion 27 through the ends of which extends a pivot pin 28. An extension 29 on pin 28 may be removably engaged by means of a spring clip 30, whereby extension 29 will be disengaged from clip 30, and pin 28 may be removed from fork 27. Pin 28 extends through the upper portion of socket 23, and the fork portion 27 of lever 26 is provided with a cam surface 32, the configuration of which is such that when lever 26 is raised lifting forces are exerted onsocket 23 and bolt 22, thereby to lift plunger 20 and trigger bar 11.

For providing a connection between the solenoid 14,

a ring switch (not shown), and an external source of potential (not shown), an electrical terminal assembly 34 may be suitably mounted as illustrated in Fig. 1. A cover plate 35 may be mounted on core 18 and locked in position by means of the lock nut 19. Cover plate 35 extends over the electrical terminal assembly 34 and supports a snap fastener assembly 36 adapted to cooperate with lever 26 for normally locking lever 26 in the position shown in Fig. 1. When it is desired to manually control the tiring of the gun, lever 26 may be elevated with respect to snap fastener 36, thereby to release lever 26 for manual operation.

In operation, solenoid 14 may be energized by .a tiring switch (not shown), thereby to move plunger 20 upwardly to operate the trigger bar 11 and vre the gun. Whenever it is desired to tire the gun manually without operation of the tiring switch, lever 26 may be raised upwardly about the pivot pin 28 and rotated in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1) so that cam surface 32 may function to lift plunger 20 and operate trigger bar 11 to eect release of the bolt of the gun.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the gun tiring solenoid provided by this invention is an extremely simple structure which may be mounted within the frame of a machine gun without materially altering the structure of the gun or materially adding to the weight thereof. The core and plunger are adjustable, thereby eliminating the need for close tolerances in manufacturing operations, and permitting connection of the plunger 20 to any trigger bar, regardless o-f variations in dimensions thereof. It should `also be noted that trigger bar 11 is connected to one side of plunger 20, thereby providing space between the plunger and the trigger bar for movement of the bolt (not shown) of the gun. Also, a simple and eicient manual control mechanism is incorporated in the solenoid assembly, without materially disturbing the arrangement and simplicity of the parts therein.

A further important advantage of this invention resides in the utilization of the gun structure as a part of the magnetic circuit, wherein the solenoid is in intimate contact with an extensive area of the gun structure. This permits rapid dissipation Iof heat and permits the use of a relatively large amount of power in the solenoid without danger o-f overheating. A further advantage of the adjustable structure within the solenoid resides in the provision of adjustment of the core 18, whereby the action of the trigger :bar 11 may be timed to fire the gun at the proper position of the bolt.

The invention claimed is:

1. A ring control mechanism for a machine gun having a trigger operating bar comprising, an electrical device, having flug;A conducting structure intimately contactins the. frame of Said gun, thereby t0, utilize Seidv frame, as a portion of the magnetic circuit of said electrical device, a sleeve axially disposed within said device, a core adjustably mounted in said sleeve and in ux conducting relation to the frame of said gun, a plunger slideablyv mounted in said sleeve coaxially with said core and pivotally connected to said trigger bar, an adjustable connection between said core and said plunger comprising a bolt extending through said core and threaded into said plunger for determining the degree of movement oi :taiti plonger with respect to said core, and a lever pivotally connected to said bolt and including a cam surface engageaole with the frame of said gun for manually moving said plunger and therewith said trigger bar.

2. A ring control mechanism for a machine gun having a trigger operating bar comprising, an electrical device having flux conducting structure intimately contacting the frame of said gun,thereby to utilize said frame as a portionV of the magnetic circuit of saidelectrical device, a sleeve axially disposed within said device, a core adjustably mounted in said sleeve and in flux conducting relation to the frame of said gun, a plunger slideably mounted in said sleeve coaxially with said core and pivotally connected to said trigger bar, and an adjustable connection between said core and said plunger comprising a bolt extending through said core and threaded into said plunger for determining the degree of movement of said plunger with respect to said core.

3. A ring control mechanism for a machine gun having a trigger operating bar comprising, an electrical device having ux conducting structure intimately contacting the frame of said gun, thereby to utilize said frame as a portion of the magnetic circuit lof said electrical device, a core adjustably mounted in said structure and in flux conducting relation to the frame of said gun, a plunger slideably mounted coaxially with said core and pivotally connected to said trigger bar, an adjustable connection between said core and said plunger for determining the degree of movement of said plunger with respect to said core, and a lever pivotally connected to said bolt and including, a, qngaseable .with the frame of said gun for manually moving said plunger and therewith said trigger bar.

4. A tiring control mechanism for a machine gun comprising a frame and a trigger operating bar, an electrical device having ux conducting structure, a stationary core adjustably mountedin ilux conducting relation to said structure and` threadedly connected to the frame, a plunger slideably mounted coaxially with said core and connected to said trigger bar, an adjustable connection comprising a threaded bolt extending through the stationary core and threadedly engaging, the sliding plunger between said core and said plunger for determining the degree of movement of said plunger with respect to said core, and a lever connected to said plunger for manually moving said plunger and therewith said trigger bar.

5. A tiring control mechanism for a machine gun comprising a fr ame and a trigger operating bar, an electrical device having ilux conducting structure, a stationary core adjustably mounted in'ux conducting relation to said structure and threadedly connected to the frame, a plunger slideably mounted coaxially with said core and connected to said trigger bar, and an adjustable connection between said core and said plunger comprising a threaded bolt extending through the stationary core and threadedly engaging the sliding plunger for determining the degree of movement of said plunger with respect to said core.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,361,935 Villiers Dec. 14, 1920 2,331,942 Turnbull Oct. 19, 1943 2,380,262 Quinnell et al July 10, 1945 2,380,611 Quinnell et al July 31, 1945 2,383,088 Shaw Aug. 2l, 1945 2,642,779 Trevaskis June 23, 1953 2,779,247 Pinkerton Jan. 29, 1957 

